A center for ecology and environmental education is needed for Tuvalu, a small island nation whose present and future is affected by the changing climate. Community-based climate change adaptation has been identified as the most effective strategy for the future of the citizens of Tuvalu. TuCAN intends to compliment the Tuvalu National Adaptation Plan of Action (NAPA) by developing programming in the Eco-Center that will tackle pertinent issues of access to fresh water, renewable energy, local food production and composting waste as well as increased awareness about climate change. A dedicated space is needed for environmental education, training, research, capacity building, workshops, exhibition and meetings. Most of all, there is need for a place for TuCAN to have a presence, to give more value and validity to environmental programs, and to make space to generate an active community surrounding issues of climate change and building resilience for their collective future.

Implementation methodologies

At TuCAN's request, Tribal Link is co-financing the project, bringing access to resources that TuCAN would not otherwise have access to. Architects/designers, researchers, innovators in New York are collaborating to solve problems through design, and create a model for sustainable architecture in the Pacific, where common problems exist on different islands. Tribal Links access to resources at the United Nations is an important aspect of the project.

Arrangements for Capacity-Building and Technology Transfer

The Eco-Center is envisioned as a hub of activity, knowledge, communication and innovation. As a community gathering place, as well as an ICT hub, (information communications technology) Tuvalu will be connected to other Pacific islands and the rest of the world. As an environmental education center, it will be a special place in the community to access and share online information, creating an activated, dynamic space.The Eco-Center will incorporate new technology and design strategies that can extend to other small islands in the Pacific, perhaps becoming best practices. The Tuvalu Eco-Center itself could become a best practice. Using alternative, renewable energy sources, the Center is designed to be energy self-sufficient, and should generate excess energy for people in the community to charge cell phones and other devices. The program for activities at the center would consider the NAPA as a guide, enabling local NGOs to carry out their parts of the NAPA, thereby strengthening relationships among the United Nations, the Tuvaluan government and non-governmental organizations.

Coordination mechanisms/governance structure

Tuvalu Climate Action Network (TuCAN), the only climate change NGO in Tuvalu, and Tribal Link, an NGO in consultative status with the United Nations, New York are partners in building this Eco-Center on the capital island of Funafuti, Tuvalu. The project is enriched by its partnerships between the local Tuvaluan organizations and the global networks of the United Nations. Consequently, the design of the Center embodies traditional, local knowledge, and new technology with innovative designs to survive and thrive in the future.